Multiple Vehicle Car Insurance Strategies

Having multiple vehicle car insurance strategies is essential if you own several cars and are trying to keep your auto premiums down as low as possible. As drivers, we all understand the importance of car insurance, both for legal reasons and for the protection it gives us when we need it. But we also recognize the sometimes excessive financial costs of carrying coverage, especially when we are insuring multiple vehicles. Car insurance can be very costly, and as drivers and auto owners, we need to take advantages of any strategies we can come up with to save money on our premiums. Looking at discount options, thinking about appropriate levels of coverage to suit our budget and the cars themselves, and finding reasonably priced providers are all ways we can work to make multiple vehicle car insurance at least a little bit less expensive to pay for.

Car Insurance Can Be Expensive

There is no doubt about it, car insurance can be expensive. Even just the price of state minimum liability plans can start to add up in certain situations. There are many reasons why auto insurance can get so pricy. For example, if your driving record is less than perfect, you probably are already paying more than you would like as a penance to the insurance company for your past actions on the road. If your credit score is in shambles, this will also be reflected in the premium you pay for coverage. Legislation in underway hoping to change all that at least temporarily during these tough times, but in the meantime the things that appear on our credits reports will continue having an effect on the numbers we see on our car insurance renewal.

There are many other factors driving auto insurance premiums, many of them having nothing to do directly with you. For example, the cars you drive influence your premiums. If your cars have anti theft devices or safety features like airbags, you can save money on your policy. Theft prone cars are likely to cost more, while smaller cars tend to cost less. In a family situation, it is likely you have a combination of vehicles on your insurance plan, some older or younger, some more expensive or cheaper to insure. Whatever the case may be, there are ways you can find to save money off the top.

For example, discounts are an excellent source of savings. If your teen driver is a good student, he or she can qualify for a good grade discount. You can get a multi vehicle discount for each vehicle you add to your plan, and a multi policy discount if you use the same insurer for home or life insurance as well as your auto plan. You can get alumni discounts for being a college graduate. And there are many other modes of savings you might qualify for through conditional discounts offered by your insurance company.

Don't just assume you're already being offered the best possible price. Ask for discounts and research all the rebates your company offers. If you think you qualify for one you're not getting, call your insurer out on it and find out why you're not getting it. At worst, you'll get an explanation; and at best, you might save yourself some money. Discounts are nice because many of them do not expire and can be renewed year after year. They are a great way to cope with the cost of having to insure multiple vehicles. But they are not the only way.

Appropriate Coverage Saves Money

A second and perhaps simpler way to maximize savings on a multiple vehicle auto insurance policy is to make sure you are carrying appropriate coverage for each insured vehicle. A well informed car insurance consumer reviews his coverage at least every six months and at each policy termination and renewal. Making sure the coverage you are carrying fits your need can itself be a source of great savings.

For example, perhaps there is a vehicle among the ones you own that has recently been paid off. If you carried an auto loan for several years, you more than likely insured the financed vehicle against collision and comprehensive damage as well as insuring it for liability. This is in keeping with lien holders' wishes for their clients to maintain full coverage on a vehicle until it is paid in full. But now that the car is yours free and clear, you should at least consider removing some of this coverage.

It is not always appropriate to cancel collision and comprehensive just because your loan is paid off. But outright ownership gives you this option for the first time, and it's a chance for you to sit back and evaluate what you are paying for the coverage you're getting. The value of a collision or comprehensive policy is based on the cash value of the car. As the car depreciates, so does the protection you are getting in a collision or comp policy.

Don't think that if you crash your five year old SUV, you will be handed a check for the cost of a new one just like it. That's not how it works at all. Your compensation in the event of a collision or comprehensive claim will be based on the insurer's assessment of the car's value at the time of the claim, minus your deductible. If what you are paying for comprehensive or collision is not justified by whatever number this works out to be, it's time to cut back on your coverage for that car.

Appropriate coverage also means placing each driver in the right car to save you the most money. If you have a teen driver, putting them in the cheapest car will probably save you money. But it is also true that switching the husband and wife can affect the cost of your policy, depending on your ages, driving records, credit scores and the like. As renewal time approaches, play around with the numbers this way as well, seeing if listing different drivers in different cars might make your policy more affordable.

Find the Cheapest Insurance Provider

Certainly there are other similar ways you could work to try and get the most out of your auto insurance dollar. But one sure fire way to save money is to connect with a cheaper provider. Many of us are loyalists who have stuck with one company through thick and thin. If you grin and bear it while your prices are increased yet again, what exactly are you accomplishing? Your show of loyalty has clearly gone unrequited by your auto insurance provider.

In the end, you have to take care of yourself, just like the auto insurance companies have to take care of themselves. You're wasting money if you don't look around to try to find the lowest price. Granted, cheapest is only best if the company you choose can give you the kind of protection and customer service you need. But as you work for cheaper multiple vehicle auto insurance, if you can find a quality provider offering a lower price, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of it.